


BeforeDark

by thedailythoughtsoftsugumi



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Gen, Personality Flip AU, everyone is the opposite from their canon counterparts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:40:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25186525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedailythoughtsoftsugumi/pseuds/thedailythoughtsoftsugumi
Summary: What happens when you put 5 complete strangers with vastly different personalities in a small studio and ask them to jam together? They fall apart. But maybe they will somehow find the virtues in each other and make this work...
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	BeforeDark

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Goodbye, Cruel World!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22808314) by [DivineNoodles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DivineNoodles/pseuds/DivineNoodles). 



> This is inspired by DivineNoodles' fic "Goodbye, Cruel World!" and her twitter post (which I will paste the link below) about the personality swap AU! So please go check that out! Also, I am not as good of a writer as DivineNoodles so please forgive me if the story is not to your expectations!  
> https://twitter.com/DivineNoodles/status/1230293121713393665?s=19

Due to the rising popularity of girl bands and the age where teenagers are so obsessed with them, a small TV station, On The Ground, decided to cash in on the trend. They decided to go downtown and on to the streets to recruit random high school girls who are interested. The catch is that the girls get to earn some commission from the gig.

* * *

Baban and Bo, the hosts of the show, stand under the merciless midday sun, looking around trying to find potential targets. Now is the best time to scout due to the nearby high school, Haneoka Girls, are ending their classes at this time.

"Ahhhhh so warm..." Baban lamented as he wiped the sweat off his brows.

"Stop whining and start looking. The faster we can find 5 girls, the faster we can go back to the studio," Bo eyed his surroundings like an eagle searching for its prey.

"Hey do you that girl can work?" Baban pointed in the direction of a girl who is wearing the Haneoka's uniform. Bo turned around and saw that she is holding some sort of book and waving it frantically in the air while shouting some words. A small table is set up beside her and on top of that are a pile of the same book.

"Let's go check it out," Bo started making his way to the girl.

"Come check out my book! It contains many interesting poems that will lighten up your day!" As Baban and Bo got closer, they can hear clearly what the girl is shouting about.

The girl seems rather short in stature and has dark black hair that ends right above her shoulders. A strip of red highlight streak down one of her bangs. She was wearing the Haneoka's uniform without the blazer on as it sits on. The blazer is draped over her bag, which is sitting on the floor under the small table she set up. Her bright red eyes seemed to have noticed Baban and Bo walking towards her and instantly lit up.

"Yo guys, you all here to check out my book? It's a book of poems I wrote to cheer people up. I just wanna share my poems with everyone and make the world a better place. I am selling it at a discounted price of $15.99 now! Since there are the two of you, why not buy 2 and I can give you 2 for $30." The girl smiled and advertised cheerfully abut the book that she is holding.

The book cover has a rather plain design and the book title is called [Change and Adapt: A collection of feel-good poems], written in cursive. The author's name, [RAN MITAKE], is printed in red below the title.

"Oh? Let me take a look at it-" Baban reaches out for the book but Bo slaps his hand away.

"Actually, we are not here for your book. Are you interested in joining an event of ours?" Bo asked.

"Event?" Ran seems intrigued.

"Yes, there is a commission to be earned, " Bo added.

Ran stopped. Her expression changed from doubtful to that of joy, "How much?"

"$50."

"Alright count me in! When do we start?" 

"Please come to this location at 5 pm in the evening tomorrow for the briefing," Bo passes his name card to Ran. Baban and Bo said their goodbyes to Ran and left her alone to continue selling her books.

* * *

"One down, 4 more to go..." Bo sighs.

"Hey hey, look! That girl looks promising!" Baban saw another target. This time, it was another Haneoka girl walking out of the bakery, holding 2 big bags containing bread.

_Just how much bread is she buying...? Can she even finish that herself?_

"She looked a bit like the previous girl though..."

"Whatever, let's just go." Bo took the lead again.

The girl has short off-white hair, which leans towards grey, which also ends above her shoulders. Her bangs are slightly messier and there seems to be a slight sparkle in her eyes. She took out a packet of bread from the plastic bag and unwraps it. Just as she bites down on the soft doughy ball of flour, her expression turned into one that contains pure bliss.

"Hello!" Baban waved at the girl.

The girl turned to look at Baban and Bo and tilts her head in confusion.

"Do I know you guys?"

"Well, we are from the TV station, On The Ground. Do you want to join an event we are hosting?" Bo went straight to the point.

"Ohhhh are there prizes to be won? Is there going to be bread? Or a skateboard? Or a new game console? How many people are there?" The girl's eyes lit up, she started asking a flurry of questions. Breadcrumbs were spewed everywhere on the pair's shirt.

"A-Ahhh!! The details will be discussed tomorrow! Just come to this location at 5 pm!" Bo quickly passed the girl his name card. 

"Ooooh! What are your names? My name is Moca!"

"I am Baban! He is Bo!" 

"Ahaha...we are the hosts of the TV show..." Bo chuckled awkwardly.

"Oh oh! That's so interesting! What do you all usually do?" Moca continues questioning, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Before Baban can continue answering, Bo cuts him off. "Actually we still have many more people to find, why not we can chat tomorrow?"

"Awww...alright then! Byeeee!" Moca skips off into the distance, munching on her bun happily.

* * *

"Is this even a good idea...?" Bo looked slightly depressed. So far, all she found are two really weird girls. The poet probably can sing but they don't even know what the bun-loving girl can do...

Baban shrugged, not knowing how to answer Bo's question. He is just following his lead.

Bo looked around and spotted a pair of high school girls sitting on the park bench. There was a pink-haired girl and a red-haired girl.

The pink-haired girl has two pigtails sitting on her shoulders. She is also wearing the Haneoka's uniform without the blazer on. Her top button was off and her tie is messily wrapped around her collar. She was leaning back on the bench and crossing her left leg over her right. Time to time, she would laugh loudly at the red-haired girl's words.

The red-haired girl, on the other hand, has long curly hair that ends at her waist. A small hair accessory is clipped on to the side of her bangs. She was sitting upright and looking at the pink-haired girl while talking to her. A beautiful, gentle smile constantly hung on her face, which has some light makeup on. Two pink earrings hung from her earlobes. She is also wearing the Haneoka's uniform but with the blazer on and it looks tidy.

"Let's go ask them," Bo started walking towards the pair. Baban stumbled on his footsteps while following Bo.

"Hey, girls, sorry to interrupt your conversation-"

"What do you want?" The pink-haired girl immediately stood up while the red-haired girl seemed to be cowering behind her. The pink-haired girl eyed the duo warily.

"We mean no harm, we just want to ask if you girls want to join an event we are hosting?" Bo puts on the friendliest smile he could muster. He handed the girls his name card. The pink-haired girl snatched it over and read it out loud. 

"On The Ground?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Ohhh Himari, it is that TV show! No wonder they look so familiar!" The red-haired girl nudged Himari's arm excitedly.

"Yea yea! That is the address of our TV station! I hope both of you can join the briefing tomorrow!" Baban nodded furiously.

"Tomoe...you sure you want to join...?" Himari looked rather doubtful.

"Ehhh let's just join, it could be fun! And we are going to be on TV, imagine how popular we are going to get." Tomoe started daydreaming about the crowd of girls gathering around her just like a certain purple-haired girl in their school, and this might be her chance of achieving that.

"Okay...I guess I am joining it with you..." Himari sighs, she is not going let Tomoe go to this strange place alone.

"We hope to see both of you at the briefing tomorrow! Remember, it is 5 pm." Bo reiterated.

"Yea yea, we will be there," Himari waved off Baban and Bo. 

* * *

"That was easy, down to the last one!" Baban jumped up and down.

"Calm down, we still have to find the LAST one." Bo wiped off the sweat on his forehead. Both of them looked around and saw that the streets are basically void of any high school students. It was nearing evening as the sun starts to set, encasing the downtown streets in an orange glow. Most of the students have probably reached home. The adults who are knocking off from work are starting to appear. 

"This is going to be more difficult than I imagine..."

"Well, that one...looks decent..." Baban pointed at the nearby convenience store. 

Bo looked towards the direction Baban is pointing, "are you dumb? How do you even know she is a girl?"

"Isn't she is wearing the Haneoka uniform...?" 

Bo narrowed his eyes and saw that the girl is indeed wearing a the white Haneoka uniform. However, instead of a blazer, she is wearing a leather jacket.

"I mean...I am sure there are other people better than her..."

"There is no one of the streets..." Baban said softly. Bo gritted his teeth, he had to admit there is literally no one wearing a school uniform on the streets now. However, he really didn't want to talk that girl.

"...fine...let's get this over and done with..." Bo walked towards the girl.

The girl has short brown hair, gelled up and combed backward. A pair of shades covered her eyes. She leans against the wall outside the convenience store, with one leg stepping against the wall. The girl took out an embroidered case from her pocket. She opens it to reveal a fat cigar. 

"U-Uhm...hi..."

The girl turned to look at Baban and Bo while bringing the cigar to her lips. 

"W-We were wondering if you-" 

"Go fuck yourself," the girl spat. She lights her cigar with a lighter and takes a puff.

"Well, we were just wondering if you want to join an event we are hosting!" Baban chirped happily.

"Do I need to repeat myself?!" the girl got up from her leaning position and stared down at Baban. Her brows were furrowing together.

"Well, t-there is commission t-to be earned..." Baban gave a nervous chuckle.

"Do you know who the fuck I am? Huh? You think I need some shitty money from you?!" the girl spews smoke all over Baban's face. 

"A-All I know is t-that you're a h-high s-school girl..." Baban coughed. 

"You little-" the girl raised her fist, preparing the swing it down on Baban's skull.

"We are looking to form a girl band!" Bo quickly shouted.

That seems to take an effect as the girl stopped in her tracks. She slowly turns towards Bo.

"Go on..."

"Well, we are doing an event where we find 5 random school girls on the streets to form a girl band to perform on our TV show called On The Ground..." Bo spoke so fast that he is surprised his tongue hasn't formed a knot.

"So how much is the commission?" The girl leaned back against the wall again and continues smoking her cigar.

"$50."

The girl thinks for a while.

"Alright." The girl grunted.

"D-Did y-you just a-agree to it?" Bo stuttered in fear.

"Are you deaf?!" the girl raised her voice again.

"No no! I mean...here is my name card, please be here tomorrow at 5 pm for the briefing!" Bo quickly handed out his name card with both hands. The girl snatched it over roughly and take a look at it. 

"What a stupid name," she slides the card into her leather jacket pocket, "now both of you piss off."

Bo quickly dragged Baban away. Once they are a safe distance away, Bo heaved a sigh of relief. 

_Maybe this is a mistake after all..._

* * *

The next day, the five girls gathered at the TV station at the timing they were given. Ran is the first to arrive, wearing a red flowery dress that ended above her knee. Her hair is also clipped up with a beautiful rose hair clip. She is wearing high heels which made a muffled sound as she walks on the carpeted floor of the TV station.

The white-haired girl is next, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, flopping in with her slippers. She was again, munching on a bread happily. As soon as she saw Ran, she instantly rushes up to her and started chatting with her.

"Hey!!! Hi!! What's your name?" Moca asked enthusiastically.

"My name is Ran! Nice to meet you...uhhh..."

"Moca! Wow, Ran, such a beautiful name! Like the orchid flower!"

"Yea haha..." Ran heard that a million times in her life and every time she has to give that awkward smile to the stranger who said that as if they are a comedian.

"You're here for the event too?" Moca continues questioning curiously. She seemed really intrigued by Ran.

"Yep! I assume you are too?" Ran asks back. 

"Yeye!" Moca and Ran seemed to hit it off pretty well. Ran has a cheery personality and she likes to make friends, probably due to her extroverted nature. Which seems to fit into Moca's chatty personality. The two of them continued their conversation until...

"Really? Oh my god! That's crazy!" Himari's loud voice can be heard from the hallway even before she entered the room. The door swung open and as expected, Himari and Tomoe arrived together. 

Himari has tied her hair up into a single ponytail. She is wearing a green colour singlet, ripped jeans and sneakers. Tomoe on the other hand, is wearing a long blouse that covered her knees. It has plain colours on it, although her hair was looking as striking as ever. When she walks into the room, it was instantly filled with the sweet scent of her perfume.

Himari and Tomoe found 2 empty seats and sat down, a small distance away from Moca and Ran who is also chatting away. 

"Alright, girls. We need to wait for one more of you all before the briefing can start," Bo looked at his watch, which shows 4.55 pm. The 4 girls looked at him and nodded, acknowledging his message.

Time passes quickly and soon, it was 5.15 pm but the last girl has not yet arrived. Bo is getting rather frustrated and so is the girls.

"What time is the last person going to come?" Himari questioned Bo impatiently.

Just as Bo is about to answer that he doesn't know, the door of the TV station swung open with a loud slam, as if someone just kicked the door open.

"What?" the last girl walked in.

She is wearing a full leather suit with leather pants. On her shoulders are spiked pads and the usual shades covering her eyes. Her hair is still gelled up but this time, she is wearing a chain across her neck. There are also leather knuckles wrapped around her fingers. Her leather boots make a loud thud every time she stomps on the ground.

The four girls stared at her with open mouths.

"Well, ahaha...now that you all are here, why not give an introduction about yourself? Like your name and age..." Bo laughs nervously. He might have regretted recruiting the last girl.

"I will go first!" Moca raised her hand. Then, when she looked around, she notices Tomoe and Himari, "you guys!!! Tomo-chin! Hii-chan!"

"Moca? What are you doing here?" Himari recognised the class chatterbox almost instantly. If only she wasn't distracted by talking to Tomoe.

"Hahaha that guy recruited me too, I can't believe you guys got recruited too! By the way, I made a new friend Ran! She is from the class beside us!"

"Class A?" Tomoe observed Ran carefully, "she does look a bit familiar..."

"Yep! I am from class A! My name is Ran Mitake and I am kind of into poetry now! I like to make new friends so nice to meet you!" Ran smiled warmly at Tomoe.

"Blah blah blah...leave your chit chat later. My name is Tsugumi Hazawa. Can we start this shit already?" 

"Tsugumi...? Tsugumi...Tsugumi..." Moca repeated the name under her breath, "where did I hear this name before...?"

"Tsugumi Hazawa? The ghost student?" Tomoe gasp.

"You're the one who never shows up to class???!!!!" Himari exclaimed loudly.

"Huh??!!! What the hell you talking about?!" Tsugumi lowers her shades to take a closer look at Himari. 

"I saw your name in our class roster before!!!! That's why it's so familiar!" Moca pointed at Tsugumi.

Tsugumi grabbed Moca's finger tightly, "don't you dare point at me again..."

"Ow ow okay! Let me go!" 

Tsugumi lets go violently and sat back down on the chair.

"Well...let's start shall we...?" Bo forced a smile.

_Just what kind of people have I recruited....?_

* * *

"So basically, the 5 of you are to form a band."

"What??!!!" Ran, Moca, Himari, and Tomoe exclaimed. Tsugumi continues crossing her arms and shaking her legs.

"Yeap! Come up with a band name and I will let you all decide on the instruments you all want to play. You all will be playing on our TV show every 2 weeks and be paid accordingly! Since it is the age of girl bands, you all will get popular in no time!" Bo grinned. 

_It's a win-win for you all and me. We both get more money!_

The girls stared at each other, completely dumbfounded. 

"Oh yeah, you all also need to come up with costumes and stuff. The TV station will only be providing the platform!" Bo added.

"What the hell is this shit? We do everything and you get paid?!" Tsugumi slammed her fist on the table.

"Well, take it this way. We provide a springboard for your success. You all can get on TV without even gaining any popularity at first. You know how many girl bands want to get on TV?" Bo explained. 

The truth is...On The Ground didn't manage to get any girl bands on their TV show because their TV station's popularity is too insignificant. But with a girl band they recruited personally, this might actually be their gold pot. 

"Alright, I will leave you all to discuss the details. You can go to the nearby fast-food restaurant to grab a bite while you're on it if you want. Just come back before 8 pm and let me know the details." Bo left the studio.

* * *

In the end, the 5 seemingly strangers that never do interact with each other decided to visit the fast-food restaurant.

"So first things first, we have to decide what instruments we are going to play," Himari took the lead in starting the discussion.

"What roles are there? I have never been in a band before!" Moca looked up at Himari anticipatedly.

"Hmm...definitely a vocalist-"

"I can be a vocalist!" Ran immediately volunteered, "well, I mean...I can write poems so probably I can write lyrics too, right? Talking about my poems, here, I will let you read some!" Ran took out her book from her bag and passed it around.

"Writing lyrics doesn't mean you can sing, idiot." Tsugumi leans back against her chair, flipping through the pages nonchalantly.

"Well, what can you do then?" Himari glared at Tsugumi with hostility. 

"I will be the keyboardist," Tsugumi replied without looking at her in the eye.

"Pfftt," Ran tries to stifle her laughter.

"Huh??!!! Are you laughing at me?! I will have you know I used to win piano competitions!" Tsugumi leaned forward on the table, staring madly at Ran.

"No, no. I am sorry, I just thought...someone like you will be more suitable for drums..." Ran explained in between chuckles.

"I-I can do drums..." Tomoe suddenly spoke up after being silent throughout the whole conversation.

"You play drums?! How come I didn't know that?" Himari looks at Tomoe, bewildered.

"Well...not really drums...I play some taiko drums with the people downtown...I have some experience with it..." Tomoe looked away, she is not used to getting so many people staring at her.

"Okay then...so we have a drummer, a vocalist, a keyboardist...hmm...we need a guitar-"

"Oh me! Me! I will be the guitarist! I can play the guitar!" Moca raised her hand in the air and waved it wildly. 

"We get it, just sit the fuck down," Tsugumi frowns.

"Then I guess, I will be the bassist then...although I do not have much experience with it..." Himari rubs her chin.

"Okay! That's settled then!" Moca grinned.

"Wait!" Ran shouted. The rest of the girls looked at her in confusion.

"...a-ah...I want to play the guitar too. I just...feel like if I were just singing, my hands would feel too free..." Ran looked away, slightly blushing.

"That's okay! We can work on our guitar skills together!" Moca jumped up excitedly, she seems to be happy that Ran is playing the guitar too.

"Now we need to think of a band name..." Himari went into deep thought.

"I think we need something really cool! You know, to stand out among the rest!" Moca suggested.

"Hmmm...what about RMHTT? It's the first letter of all our names..." Tomoe suggested.

"Hey! Why is my name at the end?!" Tsugumi protested.

"I don't think that is a good name at all...no offence..." Ran shakes her head.

"What if we look up some cool-sounding vocab online??" Moca suggested.

"I have a dictionary in my bag..." Himari took out a small-sized book from her bag.

"Alright, let's all start finding some cool words!" Moca started scrolling through her phone. The rest of the girls started scrolling through their phones too, except Tsugumi who leans her head back and started sleeping.

* * *

"Okay, anyone found anything yet?" Himari asked after 20 minutes of searching. 

"UltraViolet!" Moca shouted.

"Hmm...what does it mean?" Ran inquired.

"Like ultraviolet rays!" Moca grinned widely.

"..." The rest of the girls stared at her, speechless.

"How about Stratosphere? It's like a part of the atmosphere..." Tomoe suggested.

"I found 'Omni', it means 'all' or 'everything'..." Ran showed the girls her phone screen.

"That's cool...but it seems a bit too much...like 'all powerful'..." Himari frowns.

"Most of these words don't really have a meaning behind it though...that's why maybe we don't really like it..." Tomoe looked down.

"Yea...UltraViolet doesn't really make sense to us..." Ran sighs.

"We need something that relates to all of us, or at least something related to the creation of our band..." Himari agreed.

"Yea! Since I will be writing the lyrics, I feel like we will be making some feel-good songs, we need an inspiring band name, something that gives people hope...but of course, be cool at the same time..." Ran's eyes lit up.

"Hmmm..." Tomoe looked out the window at the sunset, "how about something related to light...? Light gives people hope...'First Light'?"

"That sounds so lame..." Tsugumi finally spoke up.

"Oh yeah? You have a better suggestion?" Himari frowns, she didn't like it when Tsugumi always shoots people's ideas down.

"I say we go for 'BeforeDark'. Sounds cool and mysterious, yet it means we are always the hope before despair comes. HAHAHAHAHA!" Tsugumi roared with laughter.

"That is not hopeful at all..." Ran sighs.

"Hey, the guy said we will be playing in the evening show, right? So wouldn't this be the perfect name?" Tsugumi growled.

Ran immediately nodded, she doesn't want to mess with Tsugumi.

"I think it sounds really cool! Let's go with that!" Moca nodded.

"I don't mind..." Tomoe instinctively hides behind Himari.

"Fine..." Himari gave in since the other band members agreed.

"I think that's all, we can go back and report to that guy," Ran stood up.

"Hold up! I haven't finished my fries, wait a goddamn while." Tsugumi started eating.

"You-" Himari has no words for her. 

* * *

"Ahh, I see, thanks for all the info! One week from now, please come back here for your band costume tryouts! And please come out with a song. Your debut will be in a month from now. You all are to rehearse at your own timings." Bo gave a final briefing to the girls before sending them away.

_I hope this works out..._ _Although the 5 of them seemed to have very different personalities, their discussion ended pretty quickly. Maybe these weirdos have something in common after all... Well, we will see if they manage to pull this off..._

**Author's Note:**

> Well, depends on how well-received this is, I might consider writing more chapters...I realised it's super hard to write this kind of story because of how I am so used to writing their canon personalities...anyways thanks for reading until the end! Sorry if it's kinda boring...


End file.
